The 22nd annual AFA Convention is behind us, but the memories and inspiration will be with us for a long, long time. Being the first convention we1ve attended, we weren1t sure what to expect. We were hoping it wouldn1t be hour after hour of boring lectures. What we found was a large group of very friendly, bird loving individuals from all across the US (and even a few from Canada and Mexico) that were eager to share their knowledge and love of birds. We had the opportunity to listen and talk to some of the foremost "experts" in aviculture. People that before were only names that authored articles in avicultural publications now have faces and personalities.
Our convention stay got off to a wonderful start on Tuesday with a day long tour of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park and the San Francisco Zoo. Imagine a bus full of 30 "bird people"! There were so many interesting conversations going on around us we didn1t know which way to turn! At the Academy of Sciences we were split into 2 groups to tour "behind the scenes" with Dr. Luis Baptista, curator of Ornithology (birds) at the academy. We were allowed into the back rooms and research areas and were able to view specimens of many rare and unusual birds. The amount of knowledge Dr. Baptista has stored in his head is phenomenal and his marvelous sense of humor provided a very interesting and enjoyable tour.
While half of the group toured with Dr. Baptista the other half was free to explore the rest of the academy including Morrison planetarium and the world - renowned Steinhart Aquarium among other things. After a lunch stop at the famous Cliff House Restaurant, we continued on to the San Francisco Zoo where John Aiken, associate curator of birds, led us on a tour of the avian facilities. The zoo is in the process of building a new avian section. Our group was privileged to be the first to tour the new facilities which are still in the construction stage. John Aiken1s enthusiasm for the project is boundless and even though the tour ran later than scheduled are all hated to see it end. Back on the bus we managed to get caught up in one of San Francisco's worst traffic jams in history, when a metal plate came loose on the Oakland Bay Bridge, holding up traffic for hours. Fortunately, our bus driver was on the ball and was able to re-route us to the south over the San Mateo Bridge - considerably farther but at least we were moving! Wednesday was devoted to the House of Delegates Meeting. Because Steve is our club1s AFA delegate, we were "obligated" to attend. I must admit we thought it was going to be a long boring day - boy, were we wrong!
The dedication of the AFA officers was impressive. The number of hours that some of these people contribute to the organization is incredible. These are volunteers that are unselfishly giving of themselves to promote aviculture and preserve our rights to keep and breed birds. We gained a whole new respect for AFA and what its doing for all of us. Without the AFA fighting for our rights to keep our birds the day will come when we will no longer be able to keep birds as pets or breed birds to preserve species from extinction.
The underlying theme of the delegates meetings seemed to be the need to fight legislation proposed by so called 3Animal Rights2 groups. The need to present a united front was heavenly stressed. AFA is the ONLY organization in the country fighting these groups. Because there is power in numbers, it is extremely important for everyone interested in birds, whether you own 1 or 2 pet birds or are a professional breeder, to join AFA.
AFA1s mission is "to promote the advancement of Aviculture". This is done through the encouragement of captive breeding programs, scientific research and education of the general public. Members receive a subscription to the 3Watchbird2, AFA1s excellent bi-monthly magazine, and they receive the Fast Ads and Fast News, an up to the minute monthly bulletin of classified ads and the latest news in aviculture. Members also get a reduced rate on registration for the national conventions. Far from our expectations, Wednesday proved to be a very educational, enlightening and inspiring day.
Wednesday night we drove to Oakland Airport to pick up fellow TBF member, Joanne Hammaren of Las Vegas and her friend Michael Burroughs. Joanne has been to several conventions in the past and had often told us we should attend them. She certainly was right!
The actual convention programs were presented Thurs., Friday, and Saturday. Sessions were 1 1/2 hrs. long and each session contained 2 speakers, 45 minutes each. Many well known speakers including Rick Jordan, Rosemary Low, Linda Rubin, Dale Thompson and Dr. Al Decoteau, just to mention a few, presented interesting programs on everything from finches to indoor aviary design, to nursery management .There was truly something for everyone.A break was held from 10:00 - 10:30 am and 3:00 - 3:30 pm and lunch hours were 1 1/12 hrs. long - 12:00 - 1:30 pm. During the breaks everyone was encouraged to visit the vendors booths in the exhibit hall where you could find everything from bird toys to incubators and T-shirts to DNA sexing information. Raffles were held during the breaks.
There was also a room set up with speciality groups like the National Cockatiel Society, the Amazon Society, Asiatic Parrot Society and others. and hospitality room was available where convention attendees could relax and visit and enjoy refreshments provided by host bird clubs in the area.
Thursday evening was an auction and the "Olde Tymers" Reception" honoring those individuals who have dedicated many years of their lives to aviculture. And Friday evening was busy with the pet bird seminar featuring well known bird behaviorists Phoebe Green Linden, Sally Blanchard and Bonnie Duncan. And if that didn1t interest you, you could attend meetings of the speciality groups I mentioned.
Saturday was the busiest and most exciting day of all. Not only did they have the general program of speakers, they also had a finch and softbill seminar running at the same time. Being that we have finches as well as hookbills, we spent the day bouncing back and forth from one program to another trying to fit in as much as we could. Unfortunately we missed a couple speakers we wanted to hear when the lights went out! I1m sure you1ve probably all heard about the big power outage that day that disrupted power in 9 states for several hours. We just happened to be between the 1st and 2nd floor in the elevator when it happened! After almost an hour the firemen chopped a hole in the wall above us, came down the elevator shaft and released the latch on the elevator door using a coat hanger! Steve likes to tell people that we were so important the Sheraton remodeled the hotel just for us! It1s strange what goes through your mind in a situation like that. First it was a relief to find out it was only a power outage, not a fire. Then there was the thought 3what if there1s an earthquake while were stuck in here. But apart from the fact that it was getting very hot and stuffy and was so dark it was like being blind, I kept thinking "I hope they hurry up, I'm going to miss the "Q and A on Parrots" round table discussion!"
Saturday evening was supposed to be the Banquet and awards presentations. This is usually a fairly dignified affair but due to the outage this one turned out to be a rather impromtue but fun gathering, in the hotel lounge where the awards were presented and an auction was held by flashlight while the kitchen staff scurried around (I assume also by flashlight) to prepare some semblance of a cold meal since they were unable to cook the feast that was scheduled. Just as the awards presentation was ending the lights came back on so we were at least able to see to eat the banquet of sandwiches, potato salad and chocolate cake. The overlying impression we got from the convention was the importance of captive breeding to preserve species from extinction. With so much natural habitat being destroyed around the globe the hope and future of many species lies in the hands of aviculturists and captive breeding programs. As bird lovers we all have an obligation to help preserve these beautiful creatures for future generations. As we heard many times throughout the convention "EXTINCTION IS FOREVER"! We're not saying we all need to breed birds, but we should all be fighting to preserve our right to keep birds so captive breeding programs can exist. How can you help in this fight? Be aware of laws being passed, educate the public on the joys of keeping birds and most importantly - JOIN AFA ! Your support will help them to help you.
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